Courtier of the Night
by Astaldotholwen
Summary: [ One Shot ] A young man struggles to find himself in a world of paranoia and scorn. He finds an unlikely person and finds a new place for love within his heart.


Title: Courtier of the Night

Written By: Astaldothôlwen

Point of View: Riku

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I do own my Kingdom Hearts CD, and what is left of my sanity. However, I'd be even willing to give that away since there isn't much there anyhow.

This is a present to my dear friend Ann ((Annjirika on this site, read her things,** do it**, do it **now**!)) she convinced me that this was the pairing that should be written about; frankly, even I'm not sure about this.

Also, this is short as hell.

Which is a change for me, a _huge _change.

Why is it so short? Because Ms. Ann prefers short fics or in her very words when asked whether she prefers long or short fics, (('Shorter; when they're to the point. Concise)) and why bore her to death?

* * *

We've all made mistakes, to claim we haven't would be a blatant lie.

We're all hypocrites, living through our lies; the filth that has been left behind from the generations before.

I don't know how I managed to get here of all places. It's dark as it's always been; kind of like myself. The stars are glowing brightly, and the neon signs are humming merrily to an unheard tune. Sighing to myself, it's comforting to know that some places haven't changed after the overruling of the Worlds from the Darkness.

Soon after Sora sealed the Doors to Kingdom Hearts everything went haywire; something that can only be described as sheer pandemonium. The Heartless ran everywhere, everything we thought we knew about the Heartless, everything we thought we learned from the Ansem reports, simply put; we were wrong.

Deadly, deadly wrong.

This mistake literally cost the Worlds.

And now we're no better off than we started.

Every male from almost every town –save for the elderly- went off to fight against the Heartless. But to no avail. The Light apparently distorted the genetic makeup of the Heartless, fusing many different varieties together, creating malicious killing machines we've never seen or possibly could have imagined before. We can't explain how the Heartless managed to get stronger; by all known knowledge it didn't make sense.

It was incomprehensible.

However, there was one major difference between the Heartless that we all saw before the Door's we closed and the Heartless of the present. These Heartless are ivory white, the colour of purity; the colour of snow.

Like I said, _these_ Heartless were anything but pure and harmless and led to the destruction of many of the Worlds. No longer will we be able to see the mer-people of an underwater civilization or a land of upside down rooms and angry heart-obsessed monarchs.

No, Worlds like these, and many others are long gone, yet another page in the history books and nothing more.

The warriors of the Worlds against the Heartless tried with all their might, and fought valiantly, however, many, if not all succumbed to the Darkness, their Hearts ripped from their bodies, becoming Heartless and adding to the Darkness itself. I remember feeling the Darkness getting stronger, it's constricting and painful.

Much like placing a bag over your head and the air space is getting thinner and thinner.

As the Heartless reign continued, one lone survivor continued to fight; his legendary Blade no match for any Heartless that stood in his path. He was the one who saved me, and tried to save the others who lost their Hearts in the wars, however they were long gone; _unable _to be salvaged and rescued.

The streets of Traverse Town are lined with busybodies all destined to do everyday chores. The last time I was here, the Dark Heartless were here and _no one _walked the streets as these people do today. I've been bumped and nudged and hit with bags and without even a murmur of an apology. As I've been walking through the Districts, I haven't seen a single man amongst the crowds, only women and their children walking with bags in hands.

Frankly, I wouldn't apologise to me either.

I'm a complete stranger within every World, a man dressed in black with an equally dark history. I'm pathetic to the eyes of the world, and don't care; I'm used to this treatment.

Eventually I made my way to the Third District, the large wooden doors groaning with displeasure as I did so. I remember this part of town _fondly _as a pang of jealousy that twists at my heart. The tiny rundown home is still here, however its inhabitants are long gone; its broken window shards littering the ground.

It almost appears that this entire District has been ignored throughout the long years past. The cobblestones shift and wobble uncontrollably under my feet; the entire District is darkened; the only light from the signs of the previous Districts.

I have to say, I'm disappointed, incredibly, incredibly disappointed.

I'm looking for a young woman, her hair was as black as the night, and yet her personality could light up an entire room of people; like the sun grazes the early morning horizon.

I've only seen her once, and yet that was enough to making me want to see more of her. She was young and naïve; but beautiful beyond compare. Even compared to Kairi, this girl truly stole my heart; however, it was short lived when an adversary took me under her wicked wing.

I saw her in the tiny home; she was a friend of Sora and I quickly learnt she traveled from the Hollow Bastion, a castle which has long been discarded as a monstrosity to society; too many people died because of that place, or so they tell themselves.

I've always told myself that I wanted to see her one last time, however the prospect of finding anyone in this busy city makes that wish feel impossible. The Third District is tiny, and I've wandered around it a few times; longing for someone to greet me, someone to talk with me.

Anyone.

Loneliness at times can be soothing; even desired.

Though at this point in time I wanted nothing more then to scream at the tops of my lungs, hoping someone would come and talk to me, calm my aching heart and frazzled nerves.

'_Is there anyone there?' _I muse silently to myself.

No response, save for the ever-present buzzing of coloured signs and endless chatter from the other Districts.

It's funny, just knowing that there is some form of noise, which feels akin to a form of companionship; even if it came from the dull, white noise away from my reach.

I continued to pace until I found myself walking up to the long abandoned home; the one with the broken windows.

Testing the door, it swings open easily enough with a disgruntled creaking; much like the doors to this side of town.

Walking inside, dust is filling the air, and I can feel it coating my body, very much like a second skin. Allowing my eyes to scan the room, my line of sight falls upon a tiny body, huddled up in the corner.

As I walk towards it, I notice something that I wasn't expecting, it is shaking.

Clearing my throat a little, I ask the tiny body, '_Are you alright?_'

It looks up at me, dark eyes bore themselves into mine confused and shy, '_Who are you, and what are you doing here?_'

I know her eyes, her beautiful black hair, and that very same energetic voice; even though she looked worn down and very unlike how I remember her.

'_My name is Riku. I doubt you remember me, but I do remember you._'

Her eyes trailed over my body, somehow even after everything I've been through, I felt anxious about such an action being preformed on me, I felt as though her eyes could see into my very soul; their dark depths all too knowing.

Breaking me out of my reverie was the feeling of a soft hand on my cheek, a gentle thumb grazing a sensitive spot earnestly.

It felt nice; really, really nice.

Such a simple action, though every nerve was responding happily to this feeling.

'_Yuffie. My name is Yuffie._'

Smiling to myself and to this mature young woman I wasn't sure I recognised I found my words trailing out of my mouth as though they had a mind of their own, '_I know._'

She began smiling too, a shy, but happy smile.

I don't know what it was, but it made my heart calm; an entire wave of calm which warmed my entire body and soul.

I've never felt like this; not since her.

Not since Kairi.

However I have long since gotten over that silly crush, my feelings nonexistent.

I often wondered if that was what made my heart cold; though as much as I'd like to blame it on that, I knew it was my weakness.

My own personal weakness.

Continuing to smile I looked at the young ninja across from me and suddenly a thought struck me, '_What happened to him? What happened to _Leon'

My voice sounded a little harsher than intended, however, I couldn't help it; I felt almost, protective of this girl; though the heavens only know why.

'_Squall – Leon, he was conscripted to fight the Heartless, much like every other man. A long story short, like many of the other men of Traverse Town; he didn't make it. He became one of _them._ I only wish, only wish,' _at this point her hand stopped touching my face, her tiny body quivering from the onslaught of tears that were soon to follow, '_I only wish I could have told him how much he meant to me as a friend, as a mentor, and as a fighting partner. And now he'll never know. He'll never know._'

As quickly as my heart felt calm and warm; it came crashing to a halt watching this young girl still mourning a friend after so many years.

So I did the only thing I could think of; I tried to soothe her, '_Yuffie, it was no one's fault why this happened. Things got out of control, and the men fought bravely, you know they did. And the Master of the Key, he's fighting for everyone, for people like _you _so their memories can live on, so we don't have to live in fear any longer._'

It took a few minutes of gentle coxing and gentle murmuring, however my little ninja eventually did settle down.

Hold on, _my _little ninja?

How was I managing to get this protective of someone I felt like I was truly meeting for the first time?

Looking down at her, she was staring at me intently; and thinking just as hard.

Slowly my surely, her hand once again began stroking my cheek; almost as though to see if I were real.

'_Riku, are you an angel?_'

Smiling to myself at my previous thoughts and her simple question, my gaze landed into hers, '_No Yuffie, I am very much real._'

I heard her sigh contently when I was met with a tiny pair of lips over my own, closing my eyes it was a wonderful feeling which allowed my heart to feel that very same calm all over again.

In spite of the wonderful feeling from this kiss, she broke away from me, looking embarrassed and sheepish.

'_I'm sorry Riku, I shouldn't have done that. You're only trying to console me, but, I couldn't help it._'

I could feel the corners of my mouth smiling for what felt like the thousandth time tonight, I knelt down and kissed her back; almost feeling an urgency to regain such a warm and wondrous feeling throughout my body.

I could feel her body tensing against mine at first, unsure of what to do, however, eventually we both gave into the calm and tranquility of each other and for the first time, I do believe we were both at rest.

Breaking away from each other, I looked into her wide eyes and admired her, '_Sorry, I couldn't help myself either._'

Her face broke into a gentle smile as I felt her lacing her fingers in between my own.

Somehow, this felt right, two lost souls binding together as one.

We've both loved and lost once, even though we refused to admit it; hopefully we could learn to love again, this time, without the loss.

* * *

(twitches)

Thus concludes my very first Yuriku fic.

I'm not sure I liked it much, my writing felt really rusty, I apologise dearly if it felt like reading a four-year-olds writing.

Why do I always write such sappy fluff? I swear, I could _feel _my teeth rotting out of my mouth, and yet, I love writing this sort of fluffiness, and I do apologise to my angst-lovers; however, I did write this for someone who likes happiness and this pairing.

Hell, even I'm not sure of what I think of this pairing.

Though, I quite liked the line about Yuffie and Riku holding their hands, I had a boy hold my hands earlier on in the week; and I've decided until you've experienced it, you can't know how heart-warming it is.

Still, it felt weird to write this after so long, and to delve into something so teeth-rotting and mushy.

What happened to me guys? What happened to angst loving Candace? The one who took quite a large amount of pleasure in knocking people off?

_Valentine's for the Troubled:_

Leafy: Yeah, see I felt the whole Yellow-Brick feel too, though, that's not entirely what I intended. I just wanted that old cobble-stone feel you know? Anyhow, talk to you either on MSN or the forums!

Brody: Your reviews and your replies to my blog make me laugh. Down with Tim Horton's! The epitome and evil-ness of Telefilm Canada all rolled into donut form!

Zanisha: I loathe Valentine's Day trust me, though, it felt right to write something cute since everyone else was writing about how much Valentine's Day sucks (laughs)! I'm such a rebel! We can't disown our computers, they need love too!

Carbuncle: Your name reminds me of the Summons from Final Fantasy XI (giggles). I love those little blue guys, they're so cute! And thanks

Daggerly: (blushes) Thanks, though, I'm not even up to calibre as many of the authors on this site; but I'll take that as probably one of the highest compliments I've received ) Chocolate is good, especially when it is given to you from someone who cares. Or just regular ol' chocolate is good too!

Blowing Kisses: Apology accepted, maybe we can get over this little spat? (smiles)

Riku of Darkness: Gods I love your reviews, love, love, love, love, love them. They're long, they're insightful and I swear, will one day bring me to tears. You're probably one of the most respected people I've met on this site, and I hold you in the highest regards I possibly can. I know my words don't go a long way; however, I have just the utmost amount of respect for you beyond my comprehensive word-formation can create. I hope you're not disappointed on this one.

AliasFan: My dear Holly! How I miss hearing from you and Heather lately! (hugs) It's so nice to hear from you! I hope you've been staying well and that school is going equally well for you! Actually, that was my absolute favourite line in the fic myself! Hope to hear from you soon dear and I hope even more-so that you post something when your summer vacation begins. Give Heather my regards )

Ms. Ann: This fic was for you my dear; I hope you weren't disappointed by it. Although I'm still not too sure about this coupling, I do think they'd make an absolutely adorable couple. Too bad I not only killed off Squall but turned him into a Heartless as well. See, since Riku was discarded like a piece of trash in the Valentines fic, he gets Yuffie in this one! Fair trade, right?

_Completely and utterly unrelated, but, did anyone see the Season Finale of LOST? My gods do they know plot twists. However, I can't help but wonder, if they aim to save themselves from The Others, was blowing the hatch open and destroying the door _really _that smart, since they're no longer, well, safe without a door?_

_Also, I've been trying to post this for like the last three days, but haven't been able to log in since the site has been having some major downtime. I hope there weren't any big mistakes since I haven't really proof-read it and was just too excited to be able to log in . . . _


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